Fit together spelling block



June 6, 1950 Filed Jan. 11, 1946 INVENTOR ROBERT E. BREE NE ATTORNEYPatenteci June 6, 1950 it] This invention relates-to-new and .nsefulimprovements-fine;spelling-toy; i "More specifioallyj the presentinvention proposesthe construction of a. childs toy characterized. by'havinga "number or parts provided 'with'sirnple atteiehmentsi so that achild-can .asserene the parts and dise's'semble them the parts beingonstmeted to lo' eoupled to'feacn other ass; having parts ofniimlgiersfletters; and figures so-that the 'ohild w-iil learn-to spelland took:-

serve.

A further object is-to provide atoy as aforesaid whioh may;bepuned-alon'g-{pn wheels; An'other 'obj'eotis'to provide 'a/toy asaforesaid whieh also isfal bank; which} begause of 1 its I inwest to achild; will encourage the ehild to save small coins and will thus teachthrift.

The toy "or the present invention includesfittogether bloeks. ItQis'alconstrnotive educational toy" which forms a g me for" children. -Itwill teah' them to s uend tofhav'ffun-whfle doin it; The'tby has?picture of an animal on eelh side and eachof the pair-tshas letter; sothat whenfpufitogetherthe" nam -or the animal is spell d. Thus-the ohilci i-iot o'nlylearnshow to 4 jSpf ll butel's'ole'erns the nain'esofcertain animals. The 'p'i'citiire of -the animal is cut into'as manyparts verticallyjas there are letters i the anim'els neme'I- Forinstance, pighas three parts,

lamb; meromparts, and so" nl' i or -fn rther'oompi ehension of theinvention,

v and of the objects" and advantages 'thereof refe'renee will 'h'ehad tothe following oles'cription andacpompanying drawings; and to theappended.

In the a'ceornpanying' dra wings forming amaterial part of thisdisclosure;

Fig. 1 is at perspective View of a toy constructed in aocordence withthis invention.

Fig. 2 isa, perspectivejview of a, part of the toy. Fig: 3 isja sideview of the part of-Fig. 2; taken apart.

' 1 ig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of a part-con- Th t sh n. mine &acc rdin Willi foleiiris in'whi'ch the various novel features of theinvention, includes aflpullwagonio having .ta

string l l. and four wheels. l2 ..Two.spa.-ced'.ddwels l 3 upstan'clalong. the. longitudinal :center. line. of

the. wagon. Areotangular blockl It, having" orii'lces- .t5..for the;dowe1s. 'ES issupported in vertical position .on the. .wagon'. .The toy.is preferably madeiof. wood,.or;.plastics.'

" -.Thel blocki ijis, sit-togetherspelling block and .ismadeofthreevertioaliparts, l6, "and 18, part Ii beingihthe. middlefandorifices [5 being. in parts {6 andita. '.:Wheri the three partsareto-:gethei-j. there is a different figure. :of an, animal 'onleaoh. sidethereof. .For instance, a Diglis shown on one side in the drawings, andv another animal such as egoatmay' be shown on; the other side. If thename' o'f i the animal hasthree letters ts PI G; then three partsere'useid. If leihb' was shown; lhowever, I there would be four 20ihaihavingsnafiie with three ett ersmfi t also b e Show; ontheotherside, such as a cat or a dog.

parts." fI-hnsif t pi'g is shown on ones'ide' an ani- 'i hei ead of thepig on part 6,; the rear; end or'i'parti8 e'nd th'e middleon part 11.-The'1et- 25 ter P is it the top o'fpart t6, the letter Ionpartheei'part for eeoli: letter in the animals name.

arranged so theit the hree perts can only be put together 'coifrectlyl-Sfich "an arrangement is shown inFig: 3, wherein thtop'dOWel' in''pa'rt fl is nearer" the topthan-t'he' bottom dowel i's' heir glowelthe} bott-oni' and furthermore" the j in part i 6 farther apart than theq q1s 1em paft e softhatfjit is impossible 'to 93M5 1! I" .struetecl inaooordance with e; modification of 4 thisinvention. I I

, on one side end the iiictihe of the cat on; the other. She nuinbers 1;Zend-S'areiiseclt oid th' chil d in putting theiperts together.

. Fremihe fereeeiee d scripi o ji wi be s that the toy is averyelementary toy for very young children. It constitutes a pull toy whenall together. If the child takes it apart, he must learn to assemble theparts of the block and to assemble the block with the wagon.Furthermore, by putting the parts together correctly he learns the valueof 1, 2 and 3 and how to spell the animals names. Furthermore he becomesfamiliar with the animals. For spelling 4 or 5 letter words, 4 or 5blocks are provided, respectively.

A toy constructed in accordance with a modification of this invention isshown in Figs. 4-6 Only the block is shown, as it can be used on thewagon of Fig. 1. The block has all the parts of the block of Figs. 1-3and parts corresponding to like parts of the first embodiment areindicated by like references and no further description thereof isdeemed necessary. The block of Figs. 4-6 has additional featuresrendering it more complicated and of additional interest.

The block [4' has each of its parts formed of two portions disposed oneon top of the other. Each part is so divided in a similar manner andonly one part, namely the part l6 will be described, it being understoodthat the same description is pertinent to the other parts.

The top portion of part I6 has a depending shoulder 2| extendinghorizontally across its width and also has two longitudinally extendingdepending ribs 22 having formed between them a dove-tail groove 23. Thetop surface of the bottom portion is provided with a transverse shoulder24 coacting with the shoulder 2|, two upstanding flanges 25 disposedoutwardly of the ribs 22, and a dove-tail tongue 25 for sliding in thedove-tail groove 23. Thus the two portions can be firmly assembled, butonly from one side. All the dove-tail tongues and grooves are similar sothat the child can assemble the wrong portions together, this making itmore complex for the child, and forming an advanced toy. It must beremembered, however, that the toy nevertheless can be used as a simpletoy by a smaller child who will not divide the parts into theirportions.

A further feature of the toy of Figs. 4-6 is that each part of the blockI4 forms a bank. Each part has a slot 21 in its top for a coin and thisslot extends entirely through the top portion vertically. One slot willbe for a penny, another for a dime, and another for a nickel. When morethan three parts are used, additional slots for quarters, and halfdollars may be added.

The bottom portion of each part has a chamber 28 for receiving coins.This chamber opens through one of the transverse sides of the portionand is covered by a pane of transparent plastic 29. The chamber opensthrough the top of the portion by way of a circular opening 30 throughwhich the coin drops. Thus, by taking the portions of a part apart, thebank therein can be opened for removal of the coins. By taking the partsapart, the coins can be viewed but cannot be removed.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of myinvention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to theprecise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to allchanges and modifications coming within the scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

Having thus described by invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent is: a

l. A toy comprising a rectangular block hav ing a picture of an animalon each of its two opposite longitudinal sides with the name of eachanimal thereabove, each of the animals having a name of the same numberof letters, said block being divided vertically into as many parts asthere are letters in each name with one letter in each part, and dowelconnections connecting said parts, the dowels in one part being spaceddifferently than the dowels in another part and the dowels in each partbeing spaced a diiferent amount from the lower edge of said blockwhereby said parts can only be assembled in one manner correctly, eachof said parts being divided horizontally into an upper and a lowerportion, said upper and lower portions being connected by a dove-tailtongue and groove connection, the two portions of each part havingtransverse co-acting shoulders crossing said tongue and grooveconnection at one end thereof whereby said two portions can be slidtogether from one side only, said tongue and groove connections beingsimilar in all portions so that any of said lower portions can beinterchangeably assembled with any of said upper portions, each of saidupper portions having a coin slot extending vertically therethrough andeach of said lower portions having a chamber for receiving coins.

2. A toy comprising a rectangular block havinga picture of an animal oneach of its two opposite longitudinal sides with the name of each animalthereabove, each of the animals havin a name of the same number ofletters, said block being divided vertically into as man parts as thereare letters in each name with one letter in each part, and dowelconnections connecting said partsgthe dowels in one part being spaceddifferently than the dowels in another part and the dowels" in each partbeing spaced a different amount from the lower edge of said blockwhereby said parts can only be assembled in one manner correctly, eachof said parts being divided horizontally into an upper and a lowerportion, said upper and lower portions being connected by a dove-tailtongue and groove connection, the two portions of each part havingtransverse coacting shoulders crossing said tongue and groove connectionat one end thereof whereby said two portions can be slid together fromone side only. said'tongue and groove connections being similar in allportions so that any of said lower portions can be interchangeablyassembled with any of said'upper portions, each of said upper portionshaving a coin slot extending vertically therethrough and each of saidlower portions having a chamber for receiving coins, each of said coinslots being of a different size to receive different value coins, eachof said lower portions having an opening through its top into itschamber, and having an opening through one transverse side, saidtransverse side opening being closed by a pane of transparent material.

3. A toy comprising a rectangular block divided vertically into aplurality of parts, each of said parts being imprinted on at least oneside thereof with a portion of a picture so that when said parts areproperly assembled the picture is properl assembled, dowel connectionsbetween the parts, the dowels in one part being spaced differently thanthe dowels in another part and the dowels in each part being spaced adifferent amount from the lower edge of said block whereby said partscan only be assembled in one manner to correctlyassemble the picture,each of said parts being divided horizontally into an upper portion anda lower portion, said upper and lower portions being connected by adove-tail tongue and groove connection, the two portions of each parthaving transverse co-acting shoulders crossing said tongue and grooveconnection at one end thereof whereby said two portions can be slidtogether from one side only, said tongue and groove connections beingsimilar in all portions so that any of said lower portions can beinterchangeably assembled with any of said upper portions, each of saidupper portions having a coin slot extending vertically therethrough andeach of said lower portions having a chamber for receiving coins.

ROBERT S. GREENE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 312,420 Anderson Feb. 17, 1885662,059 Dietz Nov. 20, 1900* 1,396,379 Moore Nov. 8, 1921 1,644,495Shafer Oct. 4, 1927 1,716,823 KoEune June 11, 1929 2,218,394 ElliottOct. 15, 1940 2,421,577 Pirrung June 3, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS NumberCountry Date 481,297 Great Britain Mar. 9, 1938

